Eight seed Casper Ruud of Norway will meet Alex Molcan in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open on Tuesday, January 18. Get the live streaming options of this Casper Ruud v Alex Molcan match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Casper Ruud v Alex Molcan Head to Head
They have never met at the top level. There was a meeting at the lower-level though in Seville in 2018, which Molcan won after Ruud retired during the second set.
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Ruud Will Aim for a First Grand Slam QF
Casper Ruud had already made a mark in 2020, winning his maiden title in Buenos Aires and breaking into the top 30, but despite finishing the season strongly he was still seen as a clay court specialist, who struggled to succeed on hard courts. Come 2021 and the Norwegian showed that he could be as effective on hard surfaces as he is on clay.
In what turned out to be the best season of his career so far, the 23-year-old captured five titles, which included a maiden title on hard court in San Diego. He also made a top 10 debut, becoming the first Norwegian ever to achieve the feat, and made the semifinals of the season-ending ATP Finals.
In all, Ruud finished the season with a 57-17 record, which included an impressive 27-10 record on hard courts. And while he proved himself on the quicker surfaces, he continued his ascendency on clay, winning four titles in Geneva, Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.
This year, Ruud began his campaign at the ATP Cup, winning his singles matches against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic and Chile’s Cristian Garin, but he was denied a perfect record by Roberto Batista Agut of Spain, who beat the Norwegian in straight sets.
How far can Ruud go at the Australian Open? Ruud is expected to reach at least the fourth round for the second consecutive year. Last year, he was forced to withdraw from his Round of 16 match against Andrey Rublev, while trailing the Russian by two sets to love. This year, he faces a potential Round of 16 match against Italy’s Jannik Sinner. He will be desperate to make a quarterfinal debut in Grand Slams this year.
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Molcan Making Australian Open Debut
Alex Molcan will be making his main draw debut at the Australian Open this year. He is coming off a decent 2021, which saw him first break into the top 200 and then into the top 100.
Having begun the 2022 season as No. 88, Molcan peaked to a career-high ranking of 74, thanks to his run to the quarterfinals in the season opener in Melbourne. The Slovak defeated the vastly experienced Andreas Seppi and the much higher ranked David Goffin in the first two rounds of the tournament, but was stopped from reaching the semifinals by Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.
Molcan, who reached three Challenger finals last year, winning two of them, shot to fame at Belgrade-2, where he reached a maiden ATP final. It was a huge accomplishment for the 24-year-old, who was ranked No. 255 back then. He was eventually beaten by Novak Djokovic in the title clash.
Molcan also impressed at the U.S. Open last year, reaching the third round on his Grand Slam debut. Can he pull of a shock win over Ruud on Tuesday?
Ruud v Molcan Prediction and Tip
Molcan can be a tricky opponent first up, given the way he has risen over the last one year. But Ruud should still have this under control. Expect the Norwegian to advance for a second-round meeting with either Ilya Ivashka or Pablo Andujar.
Tip: Ruud to win AND Both players to win a set: 6/4 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
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The 2022 Australian will be played from January 17 to 30. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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